Bronze portrait bust of a man

Dublin Core

Title

Bronze portrait bust of a man

Subject

Roman

Description

Bronze portrait bust of a man is a bust depicting the head, collarbone and upper chest of an unknown young man. This sculpture is made of bronze and contains inlaid ivory eyes. This bust depicts many intricate details such as the subject’s well-kept hair, facial symmetry and slight tilt of the head. It also possesses an organic shape with naturalistic features. Bronze portrait bust of a man was sculpted during the late Republican or early Imperial periods. Bronze busts were sculpted in order to dignify people in ancient Roman culture. The identity of the subject is unknown. Although there is a lack of information, the rise of Roman military power during this period provided many opportunities to acquire fame and gave the unidentified man many possible reasons to be honored, potentially including his prominence in the community, religious hierarchy, or military.

I think because of the lack of information, Bronze portrait bust of a man cannot replace any one artwork in the textbook. I think it could be used to supplement the “Portrait Sculpture” section of Janson's History of Art in order to show another example of a bust in the bronze medium. It would give another perspective because Bronze portrait bust of a man shows much less of his torso and does not have the tunic like the bust of Brutus (Fig. 7.11). This addition could show a possible hierarchy of busts and/or show the different styles of bust making. Further information may need to be collected before the addition of Bronze portrait bust of a man is a viable and educational addition to the textbook.